What is your opinion ?

i know you all don't know me very well but i would like to hear some opinions on this situation............
About 8 months ago a friend of mine called me up about a nuisance barking dog. seems on the street where her friend lives, people who just moved in had a very large dog tied out in their yard 24/7 and it would bark all night long. so the neighbors had gone over to speak to the owners and the owners told them it was their daughters dog, animals were not allowed in their house so it stayed out in the backyard. well that was not a good answer so animal control was called. animal control went, looked around where the dog was kept, found it had a shed for shelter and food and water outside. come to find out the breed of dog is a sarplaninac. which is a livestock guardian along the lines of the kuvasz. pyr, anatolian etc. so my friend called me about it. i do not believe in keeping dogs outside 24/7 if they are family pets.if it was a working dog then sure it should be outside. but anyway, i told them that it is a breed that was bred to live mostly outdoors with livestock and if it had shelter and such it should be okay. it's not like they had a poodle tied up outside 24/7. so needless to say no one in the neighborhood wanted to make a formal complaint against the people to avoid neighbor issues.
well now, the dog escaped its yard the other day and these complaining neighbors caught him and now have him in hiding. they want to find him a home where he won't be tied up outside any longer and probably because he won't be barking anymore. the dog appears in good shape. i went to see him tonite. he's a year old, in that gangly ugly pup stage, but he appears healthy and has such a sweet personality. they have asked for my help to contact lgd rescues to get him a good home with people who can handle the breed.
i don't know what to do. if the dog were obviously mistreated and unkept then i would agree with them to find it a better home. but the dog isn't. i have real mixed feelings about helping them place a dog that would be considered stolen. the dog is licensed with the town so they are at least appearing to be somewhat responsible about him. he also has id tags on him too. so to me it seems like they do care for him to a degree. i just don't feel a hundred percent right about what they are doing.

 

I personally think a large dog like that needs a large area to run and exercise. Also the dog needs to have human contact. Health wise they may be meeting all the dog's needs, but psychologically, he's being deprived.

I don't know if it's right to actually "take" the dog. These people may be frantic in trying to find him. I can honestly say, I don't know what to do. I guess put emotions aside and ask oneself what is the right thing to do.

 

Well...I had a dog who was stolen so I am quite biased on the issue. While I don't agree that a dog should just be tied up, you don't really know the whole situation. My mother once had to keep my dog. She doesn't allow dogs inside either so she was kept in her yard - fenced in rather than tied up. It was temporary and my mother kept good care of the dog. It is not the neighbors decision as to whether the dog should be inside or not. Obviously if the dog is being abused, that is different.
Anyways, my opinion is that these people should be told what happened to the dog and the dog should be returned to them, if the dog has not been abused.

 

Hi! It sounds to me like you've already made up your mind on what is the right thing to do. If the dog isn't being abused, they have no right to rehome him. Can you imagine how the daughter must be feeling with her dog missing? With that said: I'm wondering if they have posted signs or put something in the paper about his missing? I don't like the idea of that poor animal being tied up either, but you still have to do what's right.

Just my opinion...

Good luck to you! I can tell this has been hard for you to handle

Susan

 

thank you for your advice. the dog is considered by law stolen property if the people know who the owner is and do not return him. since i do not want to get tangled up in legal matters, and feel that what these people have done is wrong, i have put a note in the owners mailbox telling them where their dog can be found. i also called the number on the for sale sign in front of their home and left a message with the realtor that their clients dog has been found safe and can be located at such and such address. i am hoping that if the owners do care about the dog they will go and get him. if they don't then i guess a better home will be found for him. since this has caused such a huge argument between my friend and i i was just wondering if i had made the right decision.

i appreciate all your advice. thank you.

 

Awww.... Poor puppers....

---Allie the Chihuahua
http://www.dogster.com/?41063

---Mönica the Kitty
http://www.catster.com/?57596

 

I feel really bad for this puppy too- back to a life of being tied up in the backyard with little or no human contact I personally don't believe that those people should even had a dog if all they are going to do is tie it up outside.

 

You did the right think in my opinion as there was no real sign of abuse. I do feel though a dog barking all night can drive most people to desperate acts. They should have tried to work with the neighbor.
I have never heard of that breed so I searched for a photo. That is a big handsome boy.
http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe ... _index.htm

 

That is a beautiful dog. It seems like it should be on a ranch with rolling green hills and lots of grazing sheep. It's too bad it's tied to a tree all the time. Hope it's only a temporary situation.

 

Ok I have really mixed feelings on this issue. One, if the dog is in good shape, and showing no signs of illtreatment, or illness, it needs to be returned to the owners. At that time if the owners do not want the dog back, then I see him being returned.

On another side, have the owners made an attempt to find him? If not and they are not responding to "found dog" ads or calls and notes that they have recieved, then apparently they don't care and should be rehomed. But I do beleive that your "friend" needs to grow up and assess the situation as if it was her own dog.

As far as dogs living inside and dogs living outside. Do you honestly think that a dog was "created" to live inside in the A/c and romp around on carpet and the couch??? I mean come on. Yes its a luxury to a dog, but not a necessity. I have dogs living inside and the rest outside. As long as they have proper shelter, avaiable water and food along with suitable area of living space, they are fine. The only concern I have with dogs being tied up, is one, The collar to tight? two, does he have enough room (lentgh of tie) and three, are there any obstructions where the dog can get tangled and strangled? Not to mention shade.....

 

you could always force the hand of these people if they take the dog back by complaining about the constant barking of the dog - they'll either have to bring it inside (at least at night) or find a new home for it. Find out what your ordinances are in your area regarding barking dogs...and keep complaining

 

I don't have an issue with a dog "living" outside- as you said, Sam, as long as it has adequete shelter, water, food, etc. What I have a problem with is when people tie their dog outside and basically forget about him or her, with the only contact being when they refill the water or food dish. Granted, I know there are certainly many people out there who do leave their dogs outside, but who also come out regularly to take them hunting or for a walk, or just to hang out with them, etc. Unfortunately, though, it's those who dont' do these things, who just get lazy and when they don't feel like dealing with their dog just leave them out their alone for days that bothers me. Dogs are pack animals, and need interaction, whether that be with humans or other dogs. To leave them outside all the time without any interaction, regardless of whether or not they are taken care of physically with adequete living conditions, is mentally cruel in my opinion.

 

thank you all for your advice and support. unfortunately this has taken a really ugly turn. because i did what i believed was the right thing and had the dog returned to its owners i have now become a victim to the most viscious and slanderous of all revenges. i did suggest to them to speak with the owners and try to get them to reliquish the dog, they didn't choose to follow up on putting in complaints re: the barking and now i have been labeled a murderor.
so much for friendships. its a wonder i value an animals life more so than most humans.

 

I'm so sorry that happened! I think personally I might not have got involved with placing the dog, but I don't think I would have told the owners, either. Like Switzerland, sometimes neutrality works.

But you did what you thought was right, and that's all any of us can do. Standing up for what you believe is not usually the easy route to take.

I wonder if you could try to educate the people with the dog about how dogs need interaction with people? Maybe slip some info into their door or something?

 

It sounds like your friends weren't real good friends anyway. True friends stick together whether they tend to disagree on certain things.

As far as the dog, that's a hard thing to decide what was best. I personally hate to see dogs tied up ALL the time. Even though they're being fed properly and have shade, shelter, and water, being tied up 24/7 seems cruel to me.

But then people think I'm a little bit coo coo when it comes to my dogs. They're just as much a part of my household as any member of the family. Some people view dogs for what they are, DOGS. I'm just a member of an elite group of Dog Fanatic Wackos. (Those are people who won't die if a dog should lick you on the mouth.)